Apple Products Slated To Return To Costco Warehouses

Four years ago, Apple's iPods and gift cards slowly disappeared from Costco, but are going to make a comeback. According to MacRumors, an internal company memo said that iPhones and iPads are returning to the warehouse chain, while separate sources said that gift cards are already reappearing.

Dan Brettler is the CEO of Wireless Advocates (as well as Car Toys), which handles the wireless sales in Costco warehouses. He sent an email to employees alerting them this was happening. From the email:

This partnership will bring a top selling line-up of Apple products to Costco members including the iPhone and embedded iPads. As Costco's solution for wireless devices and services, we are proud to be a part of this new partnership and incorporate Apple products into our already strong product line-up in Costco.

There's no announced timeline for when the iPhones and iPads will be available, but there are reports that iTunes gift cards are already appearing in some stores, and that iPods and iPad Airs (Wi-Fi models) are showing up in Costco's inventory systems.

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For those unfamiliar with Costco warehouses, this is notable because the gift cards sold there are usually at a discount. For those with access, I recall them being about a 15-20% discount, so the US $100 card bundle (usually 4 $25 cards) would go for $80-85 as the "regular" price, no coupons or anything. Not a bad deal if you can get it, so I'm glad they're coming back. Plus the chance to get iPhones on those displays next to all that Android stuff seems pretty compelling.